Page 61 of The Game Plan
They stepped into the room, and Sutton smiled brightly, admiring her work.
The ballroom was filled with tables covered by gold tablecloths with thick white runners down the middle. Eggplant ribbons were tied to the back of the chairs, the napkins on the table the same deep purple. Gold chargers and silverware sat atop the surface of the tables, the plates white with gold edging on them to accent the rest of the décor.
“It all looks so bougie,” Carrie commented.
“But not bad bougie, right?” Sutton looked around, worry filling her chest.
Carrie shook her head, laying her hand on Sutton’s arm. “Of course not. It’s gorgeous in here.”
Carrie hadn’t been able to accompany Sutton the many times she’d come down to the convention center for one reason oranother, the days she visited falling on days when Carrie was busy.
“The drawings and inspiration board don’t do it justice,” Carrie said, walking around the tables. She ran a hand over a gold edge and pointed to the flowers in the centerpiece.
“These are beautiful. I love the colors.”
Large, square vases filled with white and dark purple flowers sat in the middle of the tables, each vase filled with darker greenery to keep the mood on the darker side for the evening.
“I want to double check each table to make sure the place cards were put in the correct spot,” Sutton said, looking over the ballroom.
“Here we go.” Carrie tugged the seating chart from her binder and handed it to Sutton. “Where is table one?”
Sutton checked the seating chart, and they headed for the first table.
They ran through the seating chart earlier and made sure each table was correctly plated and decorated, but Sutton was so nervous that she wanted to be sure.
You do this every single time. I’m surprised Carrie isn’t through with you by now.
Sutton did tend to go overboard on the checking of details sometimes, but she wanted to make sure the event went off without a hitch.
Especially since this was one of the largest and most important events she had done in a long time.
Between the team and country music stars sharing the event, Somebody’s Child had gotten so many donations and inquiries about attending the charity ball that Sutton had actually had to tell people no.
“The mayor is going to be here?” Carrie exclaimed, looking down at the place card.
Sutton arched a dark brow. “Yes. We talked about this yesterday, remember?”
Carrie laughed and shook her head. “I do. I’m sorry. I’m so excited for this ball tonight, and with all the celebrities who will be here, all the other information in my head has disappeared.”
Carrie hadn’t stopped talking about meeting Jace Austin, and the autograph and photo with him she got at the community event. It had been the talk of the office for the last few days, with Carrie mentioning it to everyone she talked to.
Sutton smiled and shook her head, then reached over to give Carrie a hug. “Thank you for all you do. I appreciate you keeping me on track, even when you have trouble keeping yourself on track.”
Carrie’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Sutton. I truly appreciate that. I know I can be scatterbrained sometimes, but it’s who I am. I’m so happy I get to work with you.”
Sutton felt her eyes sting with tears herself, and she dug into her silver clutch for the small pack of tissues she kept there.
“Here,” she said, struggling to get one out, “hurry before your mascara runs.”
Their laughter filled the ballroom as they both dabbed their tears carefully away to avoid any smudging, then continued on to the next table.
An hour and a half later,the ballroom was slowly filling with people, and Sutton watched as everyone mingled around the ballroom—the gold, purple, and white décor shining brightly in the lights of the large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
Everyone had already walked the orange carpet set up in front of the convention center with photographers and journalists set up to take photos, the orange carpet for Knoxville and for the Vols team.
There was also a fun photo booth station set up in one of the corners to take pictures, encouraging the attendees to post on social media with the designated hashtag for the evening.
If Sutton had learned anything from previous events, it was that people loved to take photos of themselves and post them on social media. So, why not have a space that encouraged them to do just that and benefit the foundation at the same time?